Amor Gignit Amorem
by Thinkette
Summary: Finally she understood why her cute black skirt hadn't made Gray look at her rump or why he hadn't noticed her assets in her beautiful royal blue blouse. Of course he'd be engaged. Of course.


_"And the thought_-  
_S'like rain upon the roof_;  
_Acid raining on the truth"_

The woman chewed on her lip, the pencil in her hands tapping on the desk as she stared at her paperwork bitterly. Usually, Juvia Loxar had an easy time focusing on her work as she believed that if she did a good enough job, her boss, one Mr. Gray Fullbuster, would finally notice her and then they'd be whisked away in their beautiful, full romance and honeymoon in Tahiti and have 30 babies and-

No, it wasn't like that anymore.

She HATED paperwork, she hated that day, she hated her desk, she hated her job.

Juvia hated her job.

Don't get her wrong, it was much better than her previous work at Phantom Lord Incorporated but today and, in fact, the entire week, had just been so horribly disappointing and cruel and evil to her. Sure, working as just one of the crowd didn't pay nearly as well and it was a far cry from being one of the Bosses of Phantom Lord Inc., but she was happy.

She got to be near Mr. Fullbuster, after all.

But that feeling was gone because finally, FINALLY she understood why he shrugged off her advances. Finally she understood why her cute black skirt hadn't made him look at her rump or why he hadn't noticed her assets in her beautiful royal blue blouse, specially tailored just for her (of course, bought back when she had plenty of money).

Gray Fullbuster was about to get married.

To Ultear Milkovich.

The very name made her blood boil, her hand tightened into a fist and she heard the audible "snap" of her pencil breaking in her grasp, a few stray splinters caught into her palm. She glared at the pale appendage in fury, hoping that her entire desk would just burst into flame like the copying machine did during the New Year's party when someone gave Natsu matches.

In fact, she would have continued to glare at her hand and her desk and her entire surroundings if her closest friend hadn't known her entire deal.

Gajeel Redfox made his way to the woman's desk and took a single look at her, an eyebrow raised. Sure, he wasn't someone who you'd think was a businessman, but he was, and he and Juvia worked together as bosses back before the Phantom Lord incident when Jose decided to make a rivalry out of Fairy Tail Inc due to their success and ended up losing his entire business. Even though Gajeel and Juvia dabbled their hands into the entire ordeal, both were given offers to join as they WERE pretty high on the list of important people.

Plus, Gajeel had some redemption to do, since he completely slandered the name of Levy McGarden, the head of the Intelligence Department. Juvia almost didn't expect him to be around, as he worked on the 10th floor and she was a good 2 floors away from that. But it seemed as if, since 5 days ago when Gray announced the news of doom, he had been around more and more, as if she was a ticking time bomb.

Which was probably the case.

"Don't take it out on the damn pencil, gloomy woman." he said, his voice as gentle as it could possibly be.

She practically snarled at him.

Four years.

Four years chasing after her boss and he couldn't even tell her he was dating someone else? So many offers, dates, gifts she could have accepted, so much TIME she could have spent doing something other than chasing fruitlessly after a taken man.

She was not happy.

"Do not tell Juvia what to do." She snapped, turning her flesh melting glare onto the severely pierced and tattooed man. "If Levy was married, you'd do worse."

"If Levy was married, she'd be wearing MY ring." He shot back, calmly.

Of course, Juvia thought. Even Gajeel had found love with his girlfriend of two years but Juvia had chased after Gray with no hope of winning. "Good for Gajeel, then." She spat out, nearly folding her arms and pouting. "At least YOU have happiness."

He sighed. "Look, Juvia, he's a goddamn bastard and he doesn't deserve ya."

"No one is like Gray. Juvia loved him."

Another raise of his eyebrow studs. "Loved? Past tense?" he asked, and she had to wonder why, in her time of crisis, he had to become observant.

His girlfriend must finally be making him smarter.

"Juvia is not allowed to love an ENGAGED man." She said, her mouth screwing up and twisting off to the side, the flesh of her lip being caught between her teeth as she turned her gaze from him to stare at the corkboard wall in front of her. Pictures of her in party dresses, her gaggle of work friends and even pictures of her and Gajeel from Phantom Lord days were tacked up, all with blue pins, shining at her from under the bare and bright florescent lights.

The older man sighed again, obviously exasperated. "Look, whatever. Either way, you got splinters in your hand and I ain't about to sit around and pretend that you'll actually give a shit about it." He said, setting down a small First Aid kit that Juvia remembered Levy kept in her office for whenever Gajeel ended up getting hurt.

A habit that might be troubling to some, but everyone in Fairy Tail Inc knew that when Lunchtime came around, the brawls erupted. Lucy kept a First Aid kit in her desk as well, and Juvia used to before she found out that Gray was getting married.

She actually threw it out the window in a fit of blind rage once he returned to the safety of his locked door, and she was on the 12th floor.

It felt amazing.

But now, all she could do was look at it bitterly, knowing that he had been carrying it for days, waiting for her to explode. Her heart almost wept in her chest as Gajeel opened it and grabbed tweezers so he could remove all the nasty splinters from her hand. Juvia stayed silent as he worked, his eyesight sharp enough that he didn't even need to look too close. Once he finished, he closed it and gave her a once over.

"…I'm not saying to get over the bastard in a heartbeat, Juvia. But I'm gonna tell ya that ya need to…" he bit his lip, probably trying to be comforting. "ya need to find somethin' that makes ya happy." He said, his mouth twisting as a wistful and ironic look came onto his face. He smirked over her cubicle, looking at the door. "And ya might just get it today." He ended, nodding at her and walking off, lumbering into the elevator so he could return the kit to Levy, who was on the 10th floor as opposed to the 12th.

Something to make her happy? Yeah right, Juvia thought. She was about to twist her mouth up and squish her eyes tight again to prevent tears when she heard the footsteps and looked up to see a smiling Lucy, her brown eyes kind and gentle.

"This came for you. He never gives up, does he?" she asked, setting down the single white rose onto Juvia's desk before her gentle hand settled on the other woman's shoulder, giving her a pat and walking away.

The bluenette stared.

It was no new thing, after all. Lyon Bastia had been sending her a single white rose every day of the work-week for two and a half years, and for a while, Juvia tried sending him messages that she didn't want them, though they never let up.

She used to throw them into her rubbish bin, glaring at the flowers and muttering out how she was a faithful woman.

Her gut twisted.

Lyon Bastia, despite her rejection, despite her angry e-mails and calls, despite her flat out "No" at every party he attended would still pursue her. She turned her gaze up to look at the corkboard, seeing images of his crisp white hair and well tailored suits in the shots.

There, him holding up a glass of wine in a toast; there, him grinning at the camera; there, him reaching for her hand, probably complimenting her on her dress while she was too busy trying to find Gray in the fray to avoid him.

Four years.

Four years that Juvia wasted, turning down a man who was at her beck and call for one who wouldn't even tell her he was dating another woman. She bit her lip again, looking at the rose and then her wastebasket, looking conflicted and in turmoil before her eyes flicked over to the closed door of Mr. Fullbuster.

Her brows set, a defiant and determined expression coming onto her face as she stood up, reaching for her mug and walking over to the water fountain. In a quick flick of her wrist, she poured her tea out of the cup and filled it with clear liquid, rinsing and then filling it again, walking back to her desk.

Gently, ever so gently, she picked up the white flower and set it into the cup, watching as the stem hit against the edge perfectly. She cupped her hands around the frothy petals and she caught one between two fingers, gently feeling the smooth, plush plant.

A soft smile came onto her face, regretful, sad, but hopeful as well as she moved one hand away to grab her phone, a petal still between her fingers.

Quickly, she dialed the number she knew by heart (mainly due to her yelling and complaints) and waited until another voice came on.

"Juvia?" Lyon called into the phone, his voice seeming wary and almost hesitant.

"Lyon…Lyon, may Juvia ask you something?"

"…Is it about the flowers?" he asked, sounding tired and worn out. She felt her belly do another flip as she finally realized what it must have felt like to constantly be rejected.

Like hearing Gray's announcement of marriage every day for two years on a loop, feeling a piece of you break every day.

"Yes…yes it is."

"Fine. I'll sto-"

"Juvia would like to ask Lyon if he would want to go out for coffee with her." She said, her thumb gently tracing the froth of the rose.

There was a hesitation like breath had been sucked into lungs that were full of dust for years before his voice came back, energetic and happier than she had heard in years. "Yes…yes, I would."

"That is a relief to hear." She said, gentle smile on her face as her attention was turned back to a picture of her disgusted face, Lyon's hand pulling her closer. "Because Juvia is tired of drinking Earl Gray Tea."

And she pulled the image down, flipping it over, ready to replace it with one where she was making the correct facial expression.

Because she had the correct man for her, right in front of her eyes, all along.

* * *

******Amor Gignit Amorem**: Latin for "Love Creates Love"

**1,835 words exactly before my author's notes and the quote at the top. I added NaLu and GrayTear, had to be done. And a GaLe moment, but, come on, this is ME we're talking about! I can't resist the pull of my OTP.  
**

**And I know what you're thinking. "ANOTHER AU Thinkette? Really?" yes, really! I went through 4 scrapped fics where they were in the Fairy Tail Universe and they were all literary toilet paper!  
**

**I hope I didn't disappoint any of my readers. :)  
**


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